A New World
by Mora Tempus
Summary: Sephiroth survived his encounter with Zack and Cloud in the reactor, but had been captured along with them. Unable to help or escape, he is left to fate, but time cannot conceal the past forever.
1. Prologue

A New World

Rating: T (to be revised at a later time)

Summary: Sephiroth survived his encounter with Zack and Cloud in the reactor, but had been captured along with them. Unable to help or escape, he is left to fate, but time cannot conceal the past forever.

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns the recognisable characters and places (others that appear will be mine)

Warnings: there are hints of male/male relationships, whether these will develop fully, only time will tell, but you have been warned.

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A.N: it seems like its been a while since I posted anything, my muse abandoned me for a time and I haven't been able to write anything that was a good enough standard to post, so I'm just testing the waters here with something new that is a WIP. It can be left as a one shot if no one likes it.

Constructive criticism and feedback is always appreciated

(Note: any and all flames will be used for the summer BBQs)

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It felt like a fog had finally lifted from his mind as he was brought back to consciousness by a distant sounding explosion…a soft groan escaped his lips as his mako green eyes slid open, slowly looking around, but from his current position he was unable to see much more than the metal of the walkway he was laying on.

Wincing as he moved, he pulled up his hand from where it had been pressed against his stomach, he frowned as he looked at the blood caked appendage…he had been wounded, there was still pain in his stomach, but there wasn't any fresh blood…that was a start.

As he sat back against a pipe that was directly behind him, he looked around better, trying to see where he was. It seemed that he as high above the inside of a reactor. Closing his eyes, he tried to look into his fragmented memory, but everything recent was just beyond his reach.

Nibelheim. The last concrete thought he could recall was being sent to Nibelheim to check on the reactor there. He was with Zack and the blonde cadet…Cloud. He needed to find them. Where would they be? Were they alright?

He paused his movements as he heard a voice down below, it was unmistakably Hojo's, echoing through the cavernous room, making it sound even more grating than usual; he dared not reveal himself to Hojo in his weakened state, he knew the madman would have a field day with him. His heavy eyes slid closed a few minutes later, he was safe up there, he knew no one would be able to reach him…he just needed a small rest.

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Just a short prologue which I think works better alone.


	2. Into The Darkness

Here's the first proper chapter, if I get enough good feedback I will continue this, if not it will stay as this.

Let me know what you guys want.

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Beeping. There was a familiar beeping sound…it was muffled but it was extremely irritating nonetheless. He paused, his body felt all but weightless, a sensation he knew all too well. His mako green eyes immediately shot open to stare through the murky liquid that he was in; narrowing his eyes, he could make out the distorted figures of people milling around the lab and his blood ran cold. He'd been found and locked up in a small mako tank. It was by far the easiest way of containing and preserving someone who had been badly injured or unconscious for a long period of time, or more likely in his personal case, he'd been experimented on yet again.

"Ah Sephiroth, awake at last I see," He could hear Hojo, his voice muffled a little, but not enough for his tastes, "Don't worry my boy, I will let you out and you will tell me what happened, just as the others did."

Others? Did that mean the scientist had got his greasy hands on Zack and Cloud? He felt his body slow down and his senses become somewhat duller as Hojo messed around with the machinery and the tank was drained. What had the bastard done to Cloud and Zack? Sephiroth immediately slumped forward, whatever had just been done to him had rendered him unable to move and he was all but dragged to a metal table and laid on it.

"Now, do you remember what happened?"

Sephiroth closed his eyes a moment, trying to think but still his memory was blank, he winced as a needle was poked through his skin, "I don't know," he responded eventually, "I have no recollection of anything."

"I see." Hojo circled the table a moment, a maniacal grin plastered across his face as screams from another room could be heard clearly.

Sephiroth paled, he knew that voice well, "Zack," he called out, struggling as much as he could, "Zack?"

"S-Seph…" was the shaky reply, followed by another scream.

Sephiroth glared at Hojo with all of the hate that he could muster, "What are you doing to him?"

Hojo grinned manically, "Don't worry my pet; they are both being well taken care of." He eyed Sephiroth, "So you have no memory of your actions?"

The General frowned questioningly, "My actions?" he echoed worried, knowing that the man could easily twist things.

"You burned down a whole town and nearly killed these two," Hojo laughed but it suddenly turned into a dark scowl, "And you destroyed the greatest experiment I have worked on."

The SOLDIER allowed a small triumphant smirk; just the thought of messing up something of Hojo's gave him great joy, but the smirk soon fell as he registered what was said before, "I what?"

The madman cackled, "Oh yes, apparently it was quite spectacular, you killed everyone in this town that you could find as it went up in flames. Of course those two tried to stop you, but they were no match for your skills," He eyed Sephiroth, "Yes I truly did create the perfect SOLDIER, my perfect monster…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Years ago my colleague Professor Gast discovered a 2000 year old entity, it was thought to be a Cetra, however he proved to be wrong and he abandoned the research, which I was all too happy to pick up, and the Jenova project was started, and you were created from it."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed as Hojo continued to rant on about all of the things that had been done to him before he was even born. Hearing enough he turned away and looking into a mako tank; he could see very pale blonde hair and dull blue eyes staring listlessly back at him.

"Let them go," Sephiroth demanded and the urge to protect his friend gave him enough strength to fight the sedative's effects and he stood shakily, and stumbled over to a keyboard and started pressing buttons, he'd been around labs and Hojo long enough to have picked up enough knowledge of what happens when certain things were pressed.

"Do that and you'll kill him," Hojo commented, watching Sephiroth's face fall, "You know what happens when someone is over exposed to mako for a long period of time and they are just cut off," he smirked, "Particularly one who reacts badly to it."

Sephiroth's hand tightened into a fist which smashed through the glass of a tank beside Cloud's as he closed his eyes and weighed up his options. He could either let Cloud continue this tortured existence or he could end it, how would Zack react? He closed his eyes, Zack loved the boy, he wasn't sure how far that love went, but he knew his friend would be devastated if he died. Killing him was out for the question. "Let them go," Sephiroth repeated, he could still hear Zack screaming, but his voice was hoarser now. His precious Zack. His heart panged, he'd never told his companion of his true feelings, knowing that the other man's eyes had always looked to his young blonde charge.

"I can't," the madman grinned.

Sephiroth frowned, "Can't?" he echoed.

"You are all officially dead, have been for the past five years."

Sephiroth stared and staggered to a wall, leaning on it for support, "Five years?"

"Yes, it was a tragedy, monsters attacked Nibelheim and burned the town down, the two greatest First Class SOLDIERs gave their lives to try and save the survivors. You died as heroes."

"To become part of your twisted experiments," Sephiroth spoke bitterly.

"For them to become part of my twisted experiments," Hojo corrected, "You, my dear boy, I have no use for. I had entertained the idea of letting you free once you woke, but then again you know far too much and are a liability."

"Then kill me," Sephiroth challenged, he could feel that he was in no shape to fight for himself if it came down to it, let alone trying to fight to save Zack and Cloud.

"No," Hojo shook his head, "I may find some use for you in the future," Sephiroth's blood ran cold at the look Hojo was giving him; it was then he noticed that everything had gone silent, Zack was no longer screaming.

Sephiroth looked up sharply as the door was opened by a very mousey looking guy, who glanced at Sephiroth and paled a few more shades before turning his attention back to Hojo, "S-s-sir? The specimen…it couldn't endure…the latest experiments…"

The former General's eyes narrowed to extremely dangerous slits that promised death to everyone who had hurt his precious Zack, at least the emotion and the intention was there, even if he couldn't quite muster the strength to act, maybe if he bided his time…

Seconds passed and he slowly slumped forward again, all energy and strength leaving his body as a stronger dose of the sedative was injected into his system, and he was laid down on that table again. His mouth opened as he tried to speak but his lips wouldn't move to formulate words, let alone sounds. His wide eyes darted around as Hojo was rambling on about something or other, but he couldn't pay attention, not that he would have anyway, but he was afraid. As he was carefully lifted and carried out, he caught a glimpse of spiky black hair before he was all but thrown into a coffin.

No matter how much he tried to fight it, his body wouldn't respond as Hojo stood over him, leering at him mockingly. The bastard knew his only true fear and was going to use it against him and he was helpless to stop it as the lid was placed over him and his world became nothing but darkness.

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Like it?

Hate it?

Let me know what you think.


	3. Toward The Light

Wow, i wasn't expecting such a great response with this story.

Thanks everyone who is reading and reviewing and due to popular demand, here is some more.

Notes on the language thing: _Italics are generally the ancient common language of the Planet when in the presence of others of the present time_, but it is normal when people in the present time are talking, or the guys are on their own (I'm confused too, but it does make sense if you read it...i hope)

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Chapter 2

Darkness. There is nothing but darkness. It is everywhere. The darkness is eternal. As is my existence. There is no time to the darkness. Have I been trapped in here for months? Centuries? Days? Weeks? I don't know. I am here. I have always been here. In the darkness where no one will look. Hidden away. No one will find me.

There is no sound in the darkness. There has been no sound for a long time. Have I been alone? How much time has passed? Darkness knows no time.

Am I even still alive? Was I ever alive? Just a thought form in someone else's mind perhaps. Someone who no longer wanted to play with me. Just shut me away in the corner of their mind.

Wait…noise…sound…movement outside…outside where? Voices. I hear talking. Who is it? What language are they using? I do not understand. So muffled. The sudden loudness of the coffin lid being moved deafens me. Don't they realise? I have to close my eyes as a bright light attacks me. I am deafened and blinded. There is no longer darkness.

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**a short time earlier**

"The structures are really unstable, I think we should leave."

"Aw come on Steve, where's your sense of adventure?"

"Where's your sense?" Steve shot back easily, shining his torch in every direction, trying to get a good look around, "This ancient technology…" he murmured as he touched what looked to be a long row of lights that once brightened the pitch black tunnels, "It's almost futuristic…" He carefully stepped over a broken pipe, "Dan?" he called, suddenly noticing that his partner had gone off again.

"I'm here," Dan replied, shining his torch for Steve to follow, "Shit," he muttered under his breath, "Come here quick and see what I've found…" he searched the walls and found what appeared to be a light switch so he flicked it and as the faint hum of a back up power system kicked in to light the room, he gawped at what he saw.

All too quickly, Steve found the series of rooms that Dan had gone into and shielded his eyes momentarily as the light flooded the room and he dropped his torch, "Shit…" he echoed his partner.

They had stumbled in a huge room that was unmistakably a laboratory; Dan looked around, taking in the metal table, what looked like a torture chair and on the side there looked to be surgical implements, all covered in heavy layers of dust and dirt, but it was obvious that someone once took great pride in using them.

"Dan," Steve was already exploring the adjoining room, staring at the large glass tubes and he faltered, "Fuck, this is some weird shit man," he muttered under his breath as Dan joined him, both staring at the two tubes that housed bodies, in a murky looking liquid.

Dan looked into the one tube and stared at the small blonde figure that was floating within; there was a label but it was in a long forgotten language and the monitors looked to be working…but it had to be a mistake.

"I think we should call in the expert," Dan said and nodded to himself, "Yeah, Vince knows a lot about shit like this…" he trailed off, "Let's just…"

Steve nodded, "Yeah, we'll go back out…there's one more room I want to check out on the way though," he headed out first, leaving Dan to turn off the light, resuming the tour of the ancient building in torchlight. "This one," He moved over to a door which had been broken off its hinges long ago.

"It's a graveyard," Dan commented as his torch flicked over the array of coffins, "This one's closed," he moved over to the only lidded box, "Give me a hand."

"We should leave it…" Steve muttered, but at Dan's look he agreed to help and he pulled off the lid with the other man, both dropping it as they stared inside and a pair of pale green eyes closed against the torchlight. Seconds passed in silent shock and the torches lowered and the green eyes opened once again, but appeared to be seeing nothing.

"Fuck this shit," Dan muttered and grabbed Steve's arm pulling the other man out of the room fast, "The fuck is this place man? We've seen some weird shit but fuck…people…real living people…shit…" he spoke to himself more than Steve as they clambered up the rope and through the tunnels, back to the excavation site.

* * *

"Vince?" Dan yelled as they walked through the site, seeing every team member apart from the one heading it up, "Hey Scot, seen Vince around?" Dan asked grabbing one of the guys; Scot merely shook his head in response and walked off to continue what he was doing.

Months ago, there had been a great find near the mountains, purely accidental of course; someone who was planning on building something and taking heavy machinery over the area caused a complete cave in, revealing the remains of an extremely old settlement. The whole area was now buzzing with life; scholars and archaeologists from all over the world had flooded to the new site, but everyone knew who was really running the show.

Dan saw Vince a short distance away from the grassy bank; the head of the team looked to be lost in thought as the wind pulled at his untied long black hair. "Vince?" His eyes moved to the black glove that always covered his left hand, as far as he had seen, it went to his shoulder, and every time he asked Vince, the other man became silent and distant.

Vincent sighed, he had given up ages ago on correcting Dan, the boy that he had mentored was enthusiastic about the history that was all but erased a very long time ago, but he often missed things in the present; turning to regard his charge a small frown marred his features, both Dan and his partner for this job Steve looked like they had seen monsters of old.

"There were bodies…real life living bodies…" Dan told him, "And the stuff…wow…there are live people…in coffins…tubes…but alive…"

Vincent's frowned deepened as Dan kept chattering on but he ignored it; Steve was standing a little behind, silent and pale, still in shock of what he had seen. Without a word, Vincent headed back to the main site, his steps slowing as he reached the entrance to the remains of his nightmare, almost hesitating to descend the rope ladders that led into the darkness; he closed his eyes and took a breath, those things were long past, the monster's physical remains were no more than dust in the wind, but the mental scars that he had left still haunted Vincent.

Slowly, he stepped off the side, landing a few hundred metres down unharmed and he stood, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. It didn't take long before his vision shifted and he could see everything as if it was in the light of day, one of the only useful things that had come from the scientist's meddling with his body, and he forced his legs to move down the corridors he still remembered so well.

Distantly, Vincent could hear someone, probably Dan descending the ladder, calling for him, but he ignored it and carried on, pausing outside a room he had sworn never to go into again, but he had to check it out. His eyes fixed on an open coffin, the lid was on the floor beside it, close to his own prison for a time and he peered in.

"Lucrecia?" he whispered softly, staring down at the figure, no, she was dead…then this was her son…_their_ son, Sephiroth, he'd got Hojo to admit that much before blowing him into oblivion.

"Vince?" Dan flashed the torch around the room.

"Stay out there a moment," Vincent spoke softly and he knelt over the silver haired man, who watched him with unmistakably mako enhanced eyes, "Can you move?" he asked but received no response and caught himself, being trapped down here, Sephiroth wouldn't have been able to follow the new languages, "_Can you speak?" _he asked.

Sephiroth stared up at him, seeing the stranger perfectly in the darkness, speaking in a language he could understand; his mouth opened several times but after being unused for so long, he couldn't quite form more than a few sounds.

"_Can you move?" _was the next question and seconds passed, then there was a very slight movement of his head, "_I am Vincent, I will help you,_" he gently picked Sephiroth up out of the coffin, after laying there for as long as he had, it would be a while before he was able to move properly again. He had no doubt whatever Hojo had used was long worn off, but it might not have occurred to Sephiroth to try and escape after being in there for so long.

"Vince?" Dan watched as he picked up the man from the coffin like it was nothing strange; Vincent didn't reply, he just carefully carried the man out, but as he reached the ladder, he took out a long red band and wrapped it around the silver haired man's eyes before taking him up and into the light of day.

Vincent took Sephiroth back to his tent and sat him on the small seat, unbinding his eyes; the tent was more shaded, it wouldn't take long for his eyes to adjust to the lower levels of light, "_Your body still has remnants of mako, it should help your recovery to be swifter._" He told the younger man and started slowly moving and flexing his limbs to get them working again.

"Vince?" Steve was in the tent, staring at the silver haired man, "He…he was…but…" he stammered.

"He was in the coffin in a state of stasis, his name is Sephiroth," Vincent said, "Keep a close watch on him and tell no one where he was found, Dan said there were others?"

Steve nodded, "A blonde boy and some guy with dark long spiky hair."

Vincent sighed and looked at Sephiroth again, "_I am going to leave you, Hojo has more victims down there," _he noticed Sephiroth's eyes flicker; "_You knew them? A blonde boy and a darker haired young man."_

Sephiroth gave a small nod, "_…ck…"_ he whispered trying to speak.

"_I will go to them and bring them to you, but I am unsure what state they will be in, you have all been down there for an extremely long time."_

Sephiroth's eyes lowered a moment, were Zack and Cloud still alive? Could he dare to hope that this wasn't another hallucination brought on by interminable darkness? He looked at the man that had saved him, talking in a strange language to another man. He had been there for a long time? How long? He saw a bottle of water and looked at it a moment, his arm moving slowly to reach for it.

Vincent saw the movement and gave the open bottle to him, "_Small sips, now Steve will keep an eye on you while I go back down,"_ He turned back to Steve, "I'll send Dan back up as well."

"Yo Vince," Steve stopped him, "The hell am I gonna do with him?"

"Just keep an eye on him, he won't understand what you say though, I will tell you more if I see fit," With that he left back down to the bowels of the former mansion.

"Dan," Vincent called his assistant, who was looking through things in the lab, "Go back up to Steve, he's with a guest in my tent." He watched the younger leave before entering the lab to find the light switch still fully functional. It still had the same irritating buzzing sound that he remembered.

He moved around the lab; suppressing small shudders that the memories brought, nothing had changed since he had been killed in there; moving over to the tanks he looked, the monitors were still in full working order, and he pressed a few buttons, watching the murky liquid drain from both tubes and he released the blonde first, catching and laying the boy down carefully before freeing the other boy.

The dark haired one groaned soft and opened his violet eyes, "Se…" his hoarse voice whispered.

"Sephiroth?" Vincent watched as the young man looked at him with a nod, slowly moving to sit up, but faltering a little and Vincent helped him, "Take it easy, you have been locked up in there for thousands of years, it will take time for you to regain mobility fully." He looked around a moment, something to identify the two with, 'Sample C' read over the tube that the blonde was in, 'Sample Z' over the darker haired boy's and he saw an old dust covered notepad, and picked it up to read the earlier pages, "You are Zack?" he asked, receiving a nod, "And this is Cloud?" Another nod from Zack confirmed it.

"S-Seph?" Zack looked at him, "Where…?"

"I shall take you to him_,"_ Vincent promised and picked up the blonde who hadn't even blinked, he was alive but in a comatose state, "Do you think you can walk_?" _he asked and pulled Zack to his feet and steadied him, keeping Cloud in one arm, and he helped Zack out of their dark prison.

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There's another chapter done, hope you enjoy it


	4. A Brief History

Thanks again for all of the reviews.

KT: I am really glad that you are enjoying this story. I do try to keep them in character, but they tend to slip out on occasion, but I rein them back when I can. I love to torture my readers as much as my characters XD keep you all in suspense lol. As for it being well thought out well….the thing with that is….i generally don't plan anything when I write hehe. I just start typing and see where it ends up. I find that if I try and plan something it ends up really crappy. I was really amazed that the small prologue that I wrote has ended up like this and that there is actually a good plot! Although when I do come across things like how I have done the language here, I do try to think logically at what it would be like. There is still the fun of Zack trying to learn this new language….that is going to be fun to write XD.

Alison and Jibrille: sorry I must have missed you two on the last chapter, I hope you are still reading and enjoying this. I am probably going to do varying chapters, just to keep you all on your toes XD

There is a few long winded explainations in this chapter, hope it all makes sense.

Anyway, on with the show…

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As the three reached the tent and stepped inside, Zack paused in his slow unsure steps as his eyes locked on to Sephiroth, who was just sitting there, staring ahead silently, "_Seph?"_ he moved slowly, his legs giving out as he fell to the floor in front of Sephiroth, getting on his knees, he stared up into Sephiroth's green eyes silently; there was no longer the madness behind the eyes Zack knew so well, just a tormented sadness and Zack's heart panged, dreading to think of what caused that desperate look in Sephiroth's eyes; he had always been so strong…tears slipped down his cheeks as the memories of his own pain and torture flashed through his mind.

Sephiroth stared down to Zack, his hand slowly moving to rest on the younger man's cheek and he gently brushed the tears away with his thumb; that was enough for Zack, he pushed himself up more and wrapped his arms around Sephiroth tightly, not wanting to let go as he cried into his love's shoulder.

"The hell?" Dan looked at the two, then Vincent, who was over the blonde, "Vince, what's going on?"

Vincent finished tending to Cloud, he technically needed medical attention, but there wasn't anyone who knew anything about helping to ease mako poisoning, "I need cool damp cloths, fast," he ordered sharply.

Steve was the one who left to find what was needed and he came back with a bowl of water and some towels, which he ripped into strips and dipped them before handing them to Vincent; the older man wrapped one around each wrist, over his neck and on his forehead, he would need to be kept cool while the fever from a sudden lack of mako took him.

"You going to tell us what is going on now? Who are these people? How do you know them?" Dan demanded.

Vincent sighed irritably and turned to them, "These three are from a time all but forgotten, when the Shinra Corporation was in the height of its power," he finished doing what he could with Cloud and moved to them, "The head of the science department was a madman, he loved to torture anything that crossed his path, he had a beautiful wife who was far too good for him, but he destroyed her spirit in the end, she was also a scientist; they were on business in the small town of Nibelheim, where we are standing now, and because this business was so top secret and official they had escorts. One foolish TURK thought he had a chance with her and they had a happy little affair for a time and he thought she truly cared for him," Vincent shook his head sadly, remembering how young and naïve he had once been, "When she became pregnant, this TURK didn't know if the child was his, or her husband's and when he heard that the unborn baby was due to be used in an experiment, he was livid and he confronted them, but it only led to his death," he sighed, "Even death would not keep him, the scientist experimented on him endlessly, turning him into a monster which brought him back to life, and once he was bored, the TURK was put into stasis in the basement…"

"That guy is the TURK?" Steve asked, eying Sephiroth.

Vincent shook his head, "No, he is the son; I do not know what happened to him yet…"

"So the TURK…he should still be down there?" Dan interrupted.

"No, over sixty years later the TURK woke from his stasis and got free, not knowing that these three were down there and he sought out the madman for revenge, but before he killed Hojo, the scientist revealed that the TURK was the boy's father, but not what had happened to him, before his body became full of bullets and then burned, just to be certain."

Dan eyed him, "How do you know all this? I know you're an expert on history and stuff, but how do you know all that?"

"I was that TURK," Vincent said softly, his eyes falling on Sephiroth a moment, who was sitting there with Zack in his arms.

"So…he's your…son…" Steve said slowly, "And you all are from a really ancient time…I need to sit down…"

Dan just looked at them silently as Vincent moved back to the couple cuddling on the chair.

"_I will take you back to my home where you are safest,"_ he told them.

"_Hojo?" _Zack asked softly, noticing how Sephiroth tensed at the mention of their torturer's name.

"_He died a very long time ago,"_ Vincent told them, "_I killed him myself."_

"_You are sure?"_ Zack questioned and received a nod in response, "_Who are you anyway? Who are those guys? Where are we?"_

"_I am Vincent Valentine, I had dealings with Hojo in my past as you three have; we are in the remains of Nibelheim, but the world has changed a lot since you were last awake in it."_

"_Changed? How?"_

"_I woke up feeling disturbances in the Planet, had I known you were in the mansion at the time, I would have got you out then; my first task was hunting Hojo down and killing him; but after then, I started hearing things…the Shinra Company had become too greedy and corrupt, it was destroying the Planet…she spoke to me one night, saying that to save herself, she would have to return most things to the earth. Midgar was first, completely destroyed overnight, smaller towns and cities followed, over half of the people on the Planet just vanished and everyone had to start from scratch, every trace of mako was destroyed, monsters that once roamed the open plains are gone, materia no longer exists…"_

"_Weird,"_ Zack muttered processing the information slowly, "_Will Cloud be alright?"_

Vincent sighed and moved to where the blonde was laying still and silent, "_If he makes it through the next forty eight hours, he will be fine,"_ he answered, hoping that the boy made it through.

"So that language you're speaking in now…it's what you used to use?" Steve asked, still not quite grasping what Vincent had told them.

"Yes," he nodded, "I am going to take them to my home, I don't want anyone to know of this, or what I have told you, understood?"

"Yes Sir," Dan nodded, "Want me to prep your chopper?"

"Yes, let me know when it arrives," Vincent dismissed them and went back to check on Cloud.

Zack slid off Sephiroth's lap and moved down beside Vincent and pulled Cloud in his arms, "I'm so sorry Spike," he whispered, running his fingers through Cloud's soft blonde hair, "I'm sorry…"

"It…it was my fault_,"_ Sephiroth's voice was soft as he watched them, "I should have listened to you Zack…"

Zack looked up to the older man with hurt in his eyes, "Yeah," his voice and expression fell as he remembered it all too clearly now the initial emotions of being free and seeing Sephiroth alive again had settled, "But you didn't, and now Cloud…" he trailed off.

"Zack…"

"Sephiroth…just…don't…I can't deal with it right now…" Zack shook his head, not even looking in his direction, but that he was using Sephiroth's name proper was enough for the older man to know how hurt he was, "I loved you more than anything and you just threw it all away…don't even think about saying sorry, it's not worth what we went through."

Vincent sighed, his first headache in a long time started throbbing behind his eyes, "That is enough from both of you," he narrowed his eyes sternly.

"Vince?" Dan poked his head through the door, "It's ready when you are."

Vincent nodded, "I want everything in that building left for now, continue searching the other places in the area," he watched Dan leave and turned to Zack, "We are ready to leave_,"_ He moved to pick up Cloud, but Zack stopped him.

"_I'll carry him,"_ Zack picked the blonde up carefully as Sephiroth stood and they all followed Vincent out, "Nice bird," He moved around the helicopter, "Can I fly?"

Vincent eyed him, "You may be able to fly, but you are not piloting this_,"_ he helped Zack get Cloud in securely before going in the front while Sephiroth buckled in beside him and he set off once they were ready.

"Look at this place," Zack looked out of the window, "It's changed so much, where are we flying over now?"

Vincent thought a moment, since the original places had been destroyed, the names had changed so much, he could barely keep up, "This was once Cosmo Canyon," he said eventually.

"No way, hey, you fly us over Midgar?"

Vincent sighed, "Later," he replied, "It is more important to get Cloud seen to."

"You ain't taking him to no hospital," Zack curled around the blonde protectively.

"I would do no such thing, these hospitals are not equipped to deal with mako poisoning; they do not even know what mako is," Vincent glanced back to them.

"There is not much that can be done for mako poisoning," Sephiroth spoke softly, "Only keeping him cool and hoping for the best will work."

Zack didn't reply, he just stayed quiet as the flight went on, watching Cloud intently.

* * *

See you next time.


	5. Small Talk

(slinks in sheepishly)

sorry about not updating this for a while, I've been RL's bitch for the past few weeks and unable to write much, however I am mostly back now, but my updates probably will be more sporadic unfortunately as I am starting back at Uni soon.

To all my reviewers who I haven't replied to, I apologise and thank you all.

KT: (bows) I never have a plan, that statement can be applied to every part of my life (which has often got me into some degree of trouble or other XD) It is also why I have so many unfinished stories hanging around my hard drive XD

Anyway, again my apologies for the delay and on with the show.

* * *

Sephiroth silently looked around as he stepped away from the helicopter; they were on a platform quite high up. He looked down and could see huge metal things lined up, from the look of them, they were very crude forms of airships and looked a lot smaller than them as well. He stared up as one flew right above them and it circled in to land.

"The hell?!" Zack exclaimed as he held Cloud tightly, looking around as well, "The hell kind of airships are these?"

"Aeroplanes," Vincent said as he walked past, "These are aeroplanes."

"Like airships?" Zack blinked.

"Somewhat," Vincent sighed, "Come on," he led them through to a lift and pressed the lowest level button. Zack stood in the furthest corner away from Sephiroth as he could; Cloud was tight in his arms.

Sephiroth gave a barely audible sigh noticing this and he let his eyes fall to the ground, staying silent as the lift took them down. Vincent stepped out first as the doors opened moments later and headed to the limo that was waiting.

"Welcome back Sir," the chauffer opened the doors, "Daniel called ahead and told me to wait for you and your," he glanced over to the three strange looking people behind, "Guests."

Vincent nodded and motioned for the others to get in, taking Cloud momentarily so Zack could slide in and handed the small figure back once Zack was settled; Vincent decided that it was safer for everyone if he sat between Zack and Sephiroth, the silver haired man got in last and the door was shut; a few silent minutes later the vehicle started moving.

Zack's eyes were intently on Cloud, looking for any sign of change, but there was nothing, "You will get better Spike," he said softly, "I promise I will help you."

Vincent watched Sephiroth silently, regarding the young man that he should have raised.

"You said you had dealings with Hojo," The silver haired man spoke softly, "In what way?"

Vincent sighed and closed his eyes a moment, "I got in his way," he answered after a few silent minutes.

"That it?" Zack spoke up curiously.

"It was more than enough; I saw the insides of that laboratory at least twenty years before you did," he replied a little sharper than he had originally intended. Zack frowned and looked away, falling silent.

"He…experimented on you as well?" Sephiroth asked and received the faintest nod in response, "What did he do?"

Vincent looked away silently glancing at his gloved arm momentarily, "That you need not know."

Sephiroth glanced to the covered arm then at Zack, and decided to remain silent on the matter for now.

"So," Zack broke the silence, hating the slowly raising tension that was building in such a confined space; he looked at Vincent, "You Wutaian?"

"Partially," Vincent replied.

Zack blinked and sighed at the one word answer, having a conversation with him was worse than Sephiroth, "Partially? So was dad from Wutai and mom somewhere else or something?"

Vincent gave a heavy sigh, he hated small talk with a passion, he always had, "My Mother was Wutaian my Father was from Kalm."

"Oh," Zack nodded, "So were you in Shinra?"

"A TURK."

"Explains a lot," Zack muttered under his breath as he continued to watch Vincent out the corner of his eye.

"You were in SOLDIER, correct?" Vincent looked at him after a moment, seeing Zack fidget, obviously wanting to talk more.

"Yeah," Zack nodded, "First Class, both of us," his eyes flickered to Sephiroth, who was staring out of the tinted window, "He was the best," Zack's voice became soft.

"I was created to be the perfect monster," They barely heard Sephiroth speak, "And I fulfilled that purpose…"

Vincent frowned and gently moved Sephiroth's head to face him, "Sephiroth," his voice was gentle yet firm, "I have known true monsters, and you are not one of them, "Hojo was the only monster."

"But all I've done…" Mako green eyes looked at him, lost, hurting, silently seeking comfort.

Vincent shook his head and held Sephiroth close, allowing a small sad smile to pass his lips as he felt the younger man relax into his arms, "You have paid for what you have done Sephiroth, being raised by Hojo was more than enough penance."

Zack muttered something inaudible under his breath, earning a sharp glare from Vincent and the limo stopped. Minutes later, the door was opened and Zack passed Cloud back to Vincent so he could get out and then took Cloud back allowing Vincent to slide out after Sephiroth.

"Wow, this place yours?" Zack stared over the huge mansion and its vast grounds, changing the mood entirely.

Vincent nodded, "Yes, it was left to me a few centuries ago," he said.

"Nice, bet you have a load of staff running the joint for you."

"No," The older man replied, "I may have one or two people who offer to come in on occasion when I am not home, but It is easy enough to maintain myself; I do not need to employ others for such things."

"Damn," Zack pouted, "So any hot guys or gals around?" he ignored the sharp look of jealousy that came from Sephiroth.

"No."

"Damn," he sighed, "So what should I do with Cloud?" he asked as he carried the blonde inside.

"You are able to deal with mako poisoning yourself?" Vincent regarded him.

Zack nodded, "Sure, trained for it in SOLDIER."

"Maybe I should…" Sephiroth started.

"No," Zack shook his head, "You stay away from him; you're the reason he is like this," He let Vincent take Cloud away, he would follow shortly, "I mean it Sephiroth, I don't want you anywhere near him after what you did…"

"Zack…I'm sorry…"

Zack slapped him hard, "Don't you dare apologise, saying sorry won't make it all better, it won't change what happened; we went through hell because of you. I will never forgive you for that," tears welled in his violet eyes, making them shine brightly, "I tried to help you and pull you away from your insane obsession…but you wouldn't let me help…why? After all we had been through, why wouldn't you let me help you that time?"

Sephiroth fell silent and he looked away, unable to look Zack in the eye, but he couldn't find an answer, everything that happened after entering Nibelheim was still an incoherent blur; he only clearly remembered waking up in the labs long after everything had happened…

"I don't know Sephiroth," Zack spoke softly, breaking his thoughts, "I don't know if I will ever be able to trust you again…you lost my love a long time ago."

"Yes, you have Cloud now, there was always someone else ready to warm your bed when you changed your mind," he couldn't help the hint of bitter jealousy in his voice, which earned him another harsh slap.

"How dare you," Zack hissed, glaring at him vehemently, "I have never hated anyone as much as I hate you," he kicked Sephiroth down, repeatedly kicking him, all over his body, allowing his mako enhanced strength to slip into the attacks, just to vent his anger.

"Zack," Vincent stepped back out and saw what was happening; he moved over to them and pulled the younger man off, "That's enough," his crimson eyes flared darkly as Chaos stirred within him.

Zack stared at him a moment, sensing something not quite human lurking beneath Vincent's visage, "Cloud?" he asked eventually when he found his voice.

"Through those doors, straight down to the double doors on the left through there, follow that corridor and you'll find him," Vincent spoke as he moved to Sephiroth, who lay unmoving, his face covered with blood; Zack stared at Sephiroth a moment before hurriedly running to find Cloud, the further away from Sephiroth at the moment, the better he would be.

* * *

Hope i havent disappointed too much as i am doing this gone 1am

Bye until next time


	6. Make Up Time

(slinks from a corner)

Sorry for the update to take so long, my muses don't like me working on one thing for too long, and RL has been a real bitch lately, but I am writing when I can.

I wrote this chapter a while ago but just forgot to post it, I hope its alright for you all.

Thanks for your reviews and continuing support.

* * *

Vincent watched Sephiroth a moment and sighed taking his glove off; one of the only semi useful things Hojo had done to him was infuse his body with various materia, which could be channelled through his disfigured appendage; his arm glowed brightly momentarily as he helped the mako in Sephiroth's body to find and heal the worse injuries Zack had caused.

Sephiroth groaned as he opened his eyes; blinking as he caught a brief glimpse of Vincent's arm before it was covered again; he would have asked but the dull throbbing in the back of his head caught him off guard as Vincent helped him up.

"He will come around eventually." Vincent said softly, "He just needs time to sort things out in his mind."

Sephiroth looked at him a moment as they started walking inside, "I know Zack," his voice was soft, "he wouldn't have said those things if he didn't mean them."

"He is speaking out of worry and confusion, you are the closest person to him so he will take it out on you, but it is not your fault…"

"It was though…"

"The blame does not lay with you Sephiroth; it is a crime that was committed before you were born."

Sephiroth blinked as he noticed a slight slip in Vincent's demeanour, "What part did you play in it?" he asked with a hint of accusation in his voice.

Vincent lowered his eyes, the conversation suddenly taking a turn he didn't want, so he stayed silent and turned away. Sephiroth frowned as the man silently refused to answer and he grabbed Vincent's gloved arm to pull him back, but the glove ripped, showing black, heavily scarred skin beneath it, an extreme contrast to the man's extremely pale complexion. Sephiroth stared at it silently a moment as Vincent pulled his arm away, but Sephiroth caught it again and gently held it as he looked at it closer.

"What did he do?" Sephiroth asked softly, running his fingers over the long scars and holes in the appendage. He looked up and Vincent's eyes were partially closed and he was seemingly looking at something else, his lips moving very slightly, "Vincent?" he watched the man worried; he could pick out a little of what Vincent was mouthing to himself, 'no chaos, not yet'. "What is Chaos?" Sephiroth asked and Vincent's head snapped up, his eyes looked a lot brighter as they changed to a yellow colour, "Vincent?" he backed up a few paces, starting to worry. Yellow eyes faded back to crimson and Vincent looked at him silently for several moments, "Are you alright?" Sephiroth asked concerned.

"I am well," Vincent spoke softly, "Find yourself a room and have a look around, I shall come and find you later."

Sephiroth nodded and watched Vincent seemingly vanish down the corridor before heading off in another direction.

'You should tell him Host' Chaos spoke in Vincent's mind.

Vincent paused and sighed slipping into one of his private rooms and he looked in a mirror to see Chaos staring back at him, "I will tell him when the time is right," he replied.

'We both know that is a lie Vincent,' Chaos corrected him, 'You will not tell him anything if you can avoid it. The fewer that know of your failures the better, correct?'

"Enough Chaos," Vincent averted his eyes.

'Poor Vincent unable to face his own failures. What would Sephiroth think if he knew his father wasn't being honest with him?'

"I said enough," Vincent growled.

'Fine,' The Harbinger of Anarchy rolled his eyes, 'Have it your way,' Chaos reluctantly gave up, Vincent frowned at that as he turned from the mirror, Chaos had gone too quiet, he was definitely up to something. Sighing softly to himself, he left the room to check on Cloud and Zack.

As he entered the room, Zack looked up from beside Cloud, "Is Seph ok?" he asked softly.

"He is fine," Vincent assured as he moved beside them.

Zack looked down, "He hates me now right? I completely fucked up, I didn't mean to snap like that but he was just there, I shouldn't have taken it out on him but I wasn't thinking straight, Cloud's not well and I'm worried about him, but I've probably lost Seph now, I'm surprised he hasn't come to kill me for it yet…"

"Zack," Vincent cut off the rambling, just so Zack could catch his breath, "I have spoken with Sephiroth, he thinks that you are right, and it is his fault."

"Damn," Zack muttered under his breath, "He'll be hurting himself again next," he ignored Vincent's questioning glance, "Where is he?"

"I do not know, I left him wandering around to get his bearings."

"Look after Cloud," Zack said and bolted out of the door, yelling Sephiroth's name as loud as he could.

"Zack?" Sephiroth eventually replied stepping from a room and blinked as his arms were filled with Zack, "What is wrong? Cloud…"

"No change in him," Zack muttered, "I'm sorry Seph…I'm so sorry…I didn't mean any of what I said…"

Sephiroth sighed, Zack's mood had always changed like the weather, "I know Zack, but you were right to be angry at me…I caused all this…"

"No, that wasn't you Seph, it was whatever Hojo did…it's all his fault, he messed things up so badly and he's dead for it."

Sephiroth sighed as he held Zack, "No…I destroyed Nibelheim. I tried to kill you and Cloud, not him. I left you barely alive for him to find and experiment on. It was my fault and you are right to hate me."

Zack stared at him, "Seph…when I said I hated you I didn't mean it…it just came out, in anger…I'm sorry, I could never hate you, I love you too much. I always have," he spoke softly, "I don't know when it was…but I remember hearing you call my name…I had thought you dead…but I heard you. I hoped I wasn't hallucinating…but I never saw you…just your voice…I tried to hold on until they slipped up and I could get to you…but I never found you…every day since you went down into that basement, I haven't stopped dreaming about all of the things I could have done to save you from whatever madness took you. Every time I came round, for a few moments, when I wasn't quite conscious, I thought I would wake up in bed, with you still sleeping beside me, and all that was just a nightmare…" Sephiroth listened patiently as Zack continued to speak, just holding him close, "What if this is just a dream? What if we are all still in the basement and I wake up and you're not there again…that you are actually dead and Cloud…" his breath hitched slightly as he looked to Sephiroth for reassurance, his violet eyes were misty with tears.

"I am here Zack," he assured softly, "And I will not leave you, I can promise you that. Nothing could keep me away from you, or Cloud. He is going to wake up and he will get better, and the three of us will be alright." He had to fight to keep his voice level, Zack needed him now, he could fall to pieces on his own time.

"You really think so?"

No, Sephiroth thought, "Of course," he forced a wan smile, "it won't be an easy over night recovery, but we will be fine."

Zack nodded and fell silent for a few moments, thinking of something to say, he had been in pure silence for too long, "What do you make of Vincent?" he asked.

Sephiroth sat down with Zack, "I'm not sure," he admitted.

"Think he is genuine? Or is this some really elaborate hoax?"

Sephiroth shot him a look, "I am not even contemplating that it is an option," he said sternly, "As for Vincent…I think he is genuine; his story is very plausible at least. Everything does seem to have changed…but there is something about him."

Zack nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I sense that in him too," he sighed, "But he's all we got for now."

* * *

Vincent watched Cloud as he just lay on the bed, staring listlessly at the ceiling.

'Heal him yourself Host, take him to the pool,' Chaos broke his silence, 'You have done such before…'

Vincent sighed, "Why do you only interfere when it suits you?"

He felt Chaos shrug in his mind, 'Because it suits me,' he responded.

Vincent rolled his eyes and moved to the comatose boy; he carefully picked him up and carried him down to the small grotto that lay beneath the building.

_Why do you disturb us? _The voice spoke outraged, sounding like a legion yet one, neither female or male; the voices shrieked loudly and attacked him mentally, trying to tear his mind apart, yet Chaos held them back, _We are to be left alone!_

"I am here for your help." Vincent replied steadily.

_Last time was the last time._

"You would let an already tortured child suffer further?" Vincent challenged, holding Cloud to him, "You know what he has been through, and yet in your hiding you have become cold, maybe you need to be exposed to the world again…"

_You wouldn't dare!_ The voice of the lifestream hissed.

"Do you wish to test me?"

The room was filled with silence, as if it was contemplating what to do next; both Chaos and Vincent prepared themselves for an attack, when the air suddenly felt lighter, _Very well, we will heal the boy_, it spoke very reluctantly, _Bring him in to us._

Vincent moved to the small pool and stepped in still holding Cloud tight in his arms, he didn't trust the lifestream to not carry Cloud away. As he entered the pool he could feel a resistance in the water, like it was becoming thick and purposely trying to stop Vincent who held Cloud in the water and closed his eyes. As he held the small blonde, he began to see the polluted mako and the long dead Jenova cells that held him in his comatose state. He could feel the lifestream lapping over his arms forcefully, trying to pull Cloud away, but his grip stayed firm and he concentrated, letting small strands of the lifestream into Cloud and guided the healing waters to break down and completely dissolve the polluted mako, taking it back out of his body. For an interminable amount of time, Vincent stood in the water holding Cloud, going through the painstakingly slow process of ridding his body of the poisoned mako and strengthening his body, after being fully supported by the machines for so long.

Slowly bringing himself out of the trance, he slowly waded out of the water, having to catch himself on the bank and lay Cloud down before collapsing beside him; when the spirits of the lifestream were in such a testy mood, they sapped him of nearly all of his energy and it could take a long time for him to recover; were it not for his inner demons' strength, healing the boy would have killed him. As his eyes started to close, he barely saw Cloud move.

* * *


End file.
